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Staffing Proposal and Interpretations
WisconsinConference UCC
June 2010
MissionStatement
As witnesses to God's love in Jesus Christ, the Wisconsin Conference serves with congregations, pastors, laity, and wider church partners to:
- Provide networks of clergy support
- Engage laity in spiritual growth and leadership development
- Establish and renew congregations
So that the people will respond to the Spirit's call, grow in faith and discipleship, and participate in God's transforming work of peace and justice.
This proposal represents more than a year of work by a special team of laity and clergy from throughout our Conference. It has been revised on several occasions by the Conference Board of Directors and was discussed extensively at a special meeting of clergy in April 0f 2009. It is now open for general discussion, conversation, and feedback. The Board of Directors will review feedback in December and March and consider revisions. A document on staffing and structure for the future of our Wisconsin Conference will be presented to the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Conference, and, if voted on and approved, will then move to a constitutional revision phase that would be presented in 2011.
Why is any change needed?
- There is a biblical challenge to people of faith to follow the leading of God's spirit into new places and new forms.
- Abram is to "Go from your country and your kindred and your ancestral home to the land I will show you." (Genesis 12:1)
- The prophet Isaiah tells the people of Israel to see the work of God not only in the past, but in the future: "Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)
- In his vision of the new heaven and new earth, the visionary John offers this revelation about the church: "The one who sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new'.... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the almighty and the Lamb." (Revelation 21: 5 and 22)
- All of these biblical texts and many more caution God's people not to limit the faith only to the forms in which we are accustomed to experiencing it.
- In our United Church of Christ tradition, our Pilgrim ancestors were sent off to North America with Pastor John Robinson's words, "There is yet more light and truth to break forth from God's Word."
- In the decade leading up to the formation of the UCC in 1957, the Basis of Union was developed, and in its preamble were these words: "Believing that denominations exist not for themselves but as parts of that Church, within which each denomination is to live and labor, and if need be, die...(we) do now declare ourselves to be one body." (Basis of Union, 1947)
- Our structures have served us well since the Conference and Associations were formed in the early 1960's. That means our basic structure is now nearly 50 years old. Our staffing patterns are more than 20 years old, and it has also served us well, with Association Ministers providing pastoral care and leadership in each of four Associations, and program staff being added to cover needs of churches for resources.
- There are demographic shifts that impact the UCC in Wisconsin. When the Conference and four Associations were formed, there were 295 churches and 95,000 members. Today there are 230 churches and 56,000 members. Increasingly churches are served by part-time pastors or licensed pastors.
- In the UCC as a whole, when the church was formed there were 6909 congregations and 2,052,857 members. Today there are 5518 congregations and 1,1296,474 members.
- There are also financial changes that impact what kind of ministry we are able to sustain in the wider settings of the church.
- OCWM Basic Support in Wisconsin reached a high of $2.37 million in 2000 and was $2.12 million in 2008. We anticipate OCWM will be $1.95 million in 2009.
- We have buffered some of the decrease in OCWM by using income from investments, but with the reduction in the market and drop in interest rates, this source of income is now less than anticipated.
- Different patterns of giving have changed the way in which churches support missions beyond their congregation, with gifts increasing to specified missions and decreasing to denominational missions like OCWM.
- The wider settings of the church, like the Conference/Associations and the National setting increasingly will need to find ways to support ministries, in addition to the basic support that comes from OCWM, and this approach to financial development will take an investment in both persons and funds.
- A budget for the years 2010-2014 has been developed. The initial draft of the budget envisions a reduction of 1.5 staff positions for 2012 and beyond; a modest increase in OCWM for 2011-2014; and an approach to individuals for special gifts to specific Conference ministries.
- There are cultural shifts that have been documented in additional materials that call for different ways of providing support, consultation, and resources to local churches and their leaders.
What do we hope to accomplish?
- Joyfully and faithfully live out our mission as represented in our mission statement
- Live within our budget by creating a structure and staffing pattern that will be financially sustainable
- Respond creatively to the major changes that are impacting the mainline church in this country, including demographic shifts; steeply declining membership with fewer people available to support ministries; changes in giving patterns; the aging of our denomination; changes in denominational identification
- Build on the strong history of relationships between and among churches and clergy and be responsive to the needs of churches and church leaders
- Be responsive to local churches, pastors, and lay leaders, and build confidence that they will receive careful and competent assistance
- Create a staff that has a sense of teamwork and can fulfill the required roles with the greatest flexibility to respond to changing needs, conditions, and trends in local churches
- Provide a transition between current structures and traditions and hoped-for changes that maintains essential services and traditions, while moving toward needed adaptation
- Continue to strengthen the relationships and ministries in Associations while beginning to build affinity groups that go beyond geography
- Significantly increase communication between Conference and Association settings and the local church, clergy, and lay leaders in congregations
What staffing pattern will best help us accomplish our mission and be financially sustainable?
- We will create a staff structure that ties the roles and responsibilities of staff to the Mission Statement.
- Each staff person will have a "lead" position on some mission responsibilities and will head a team that will include other ministerial staff, support staff, volunteers, and trained lay/clergy "associates" where appropriate.
- Staff will work as a team to support one another and to apply gifts to the work of the Conference and Associations.
- There will be a pastoral contact in the Conference staff, for clergy and churches and that person will arrange the response to that church or clergy, either themselves or utilizing other staff, consultants, or trained "associates".
- A Conference Minister elected by the Conference
- Mission Statement Component: "serves with pastors, laity, and wider church partners"
- Responsibilities
- Conference-wide spiritual leader and theological teacher
- Overall leadership, administration, management and leadership of Conference staff
- Mission development and leadership
- Provide vision to connect The Gospel to contemporary justice and social issues
- Oversee Annual Meeting
- Financial development and budget management, including stewardship and OCWM
- Maintain relationships and connections with other conferences, the national setting, and ecumenical associates
- Oversee relationship with United Church Camps, Inc. (UCCI)
- Maintain Conference relationship with Council on Health and Human Service Ministries and Higher Education partners
- Maintain and encourage the growth of Conference international partnerships
- Oversee all Conference Communications
- Associate Conference Minister For Support of Pastors and Care of Churches
- Mission Statement Component: "Provide Networks of Clergy Support"
- Responsibilities
- Regional responsibility for clergy and churches
- Provide pastoral care, coaching, support during times of crisis and transition, conflict resolution, coordinate staffing of search and call
- Train pastors and other staff to form and lead clergy development and support groups
- Staff the work of two Association Church and Ministry Committees
- Provide leadership in Rural Ministry
- Coordinate search and call
- Train search and call teams
- Recommended by search committee including Conference Minister and issued a call by the Board of Directors
- Associate Conference Minister For Support of Pastors & Care of Churches
- Mission Statement Component: "Provide Networks of Clergy Support"
- Regional responsibility for clergy and churches
- Provide pastoral care, coaching, support during times of crisis and transition, conflict resolution, coordinate staffing of search and call
- Train pastors and other staff to form and lead clergy development and support groups
- Staff the work of two Association Church and Ministry Committees
- Provide leadership in Urban Ministry
- Coordinate search and call
- Train search and call teams
- Recommended by search committee including Conference Minister and issued a call by the Board of Directors
- Associate Conference Minister For Educational Ministries
- Mission Statement Component:
"Engage Laity in Spiritual Growth and Leadership Development
Provide Networks of Clergy Support"
- Direct the Lay Academy program and provide leadership to all its related educational programs
- Leadership Development for laity utilizing a team approach
- Develop continuing education programs for clergy utilizing a team approach
- Support and resource Christian Education in the Local Church
- Support and resource groups working on Social Justice
- Recommended by search committee including Conference Minister and issued a call by the Board of Directors
- Associate Conference Minister For Church Development and Renewal
- Mission Statement Component: "Establish and Renew Congregations"
- Possess knowledge and skills in Church Development and Renewal
- Provide leadership to the Conference in establishing new congregations and resource congregations seeking renewal
- Provide leadership to the Church Development and Renewal Team
- Resource local churches on issues of assessment, growth, renewal
- Identify and develop pastors with gifts to start new churches or to work toward renewal
- Develop training in evangelism, stewardship, hospitality and other areas that can stimulate church growth
- Search and Call Coordinator
- Supervise staff to maintain list of openings and be familiar with church profiles
- Regularly seek potential candidates, contact them, seek to match them to openings, communicate with other staff and search associates who may be working directly with local churches
- Recommended by search committee including Conference Minister and issued a call by the Board of Directors
- Associate Conference Minister For Youth Ministry/Youth Ministry Coordinator
- Mission Statement Component: "Engage Laity in Spiritual Growth and Leadership Development"
- Youth Ministry and Youth Leader Training
- Resource and connect Youth Leaders in local congregations
- Staff established youth programs and, with CYMT develop programs to offer faith formation for youth
- Recommended by search committee including Conference Minister and issued a call by the Board of Directors
Interpretations
Impact on the Life of Associations
- Associations in the United Church of Christ constitution are entrusted with functions such as authorizing people for ministry; oversight of authorized ministers; discipline of authorized ministers. This role will continue to be entrusted to the four Associations under this proposal.
- There will continue to be four Association Church and Ministry Committees (called Committee on Ministry in UCC "Manual on Ministry")
- This proposal provides staffing to each of the four Association Church and Ministry Committees through two Associate Conference Ministers, each of whom staff two Committees
- Associations have evolved into regional units with their own unique mission and program. Regional programming will continue as geographically connected churches see the need and opportunity for this programming and as groups within a particular area provide leadership.
- The Conference Minister and Associate Conference Ministers may be called upon to provide consultation and leadership for regional programming when requested
- An Executive Committee/Administrative Team will continue to be elected in each Association to:
- Provide a point of appeal for Association Church and Ministry decisions
- Oversee financial assets of the Association and provide funding for regional ministries
- Assist local church or cluster leaders in regional programming
- Per capita dues to the Associations have long been an important and integral part of financing the ministries we share in Wisconsin. Per capita would continue to be set by Association Executive Committees/Administrative Teams and would provide support to Church and Ministry functions and regional programming and mission priorities as established by the Executive Committees/Administrative Team.
- Any and all Conference structures that continue or are created through this re-structuring will maintain a balance of membership/representation from the Associations, so that there continues to be a regional diversity of voices and decision-making input from churches throughout the state
- The 4 individual Association offices will be closed June 30, 2011. Support staff functions will be consolidated into one Administrative Assistant position. This person will be housed in the Trost Center.
- Basic services such as database, publications, and communications will be brought together and coordinated. Individual Association identity pieces will continue, but we will seek coordination.
- One common financial management process will be established and will be reported on one financial statement that will be audited and will include accounting for the funds of all four Associations. Associations will have full authority to use their funds for their designated purposes.
- All personnel issues will be administered according to Conference personnel handbook guidelines
Specifics of Staffing
The above positions will translate to 5.5 full time people on the staff, and some positions may be combined with other positions or be split into multiple part-time positions.
Ministerial staff will share support staff, some of whom may be serving this function via electronic connections.
Associations will continue in their present configuration and will determine their program and structure.
Associations will be encouraged to speak together and to work toward shared administration and programming with one another and with the Conference
Each Association will have a designated pastoral contact person within the staff as well as two staff who will resource Church and Ministry Committees in the four Associations. The pastoral contact persons in the staff will have minimal programmatic responsibility in the Associations and volunteer teams and task groups will need to plan and implement desired programs or connect programs to Conference staff with programmatic responsibility.
Ministerial Staff (Current: 7.5 FTE; proposed: 5.5 FTE)
Non-ministerial professional staff: (Current: 2 FTE; proposed: 2 FTE)
-Business Manager
-Executive Assistant to Conference Minister
-Will become ½ time communications director
- Regular news to churches
- Facilitate new technology for use by staff and committees and local churches
- Develop and maintain data base that is current and allows targeted communication
-1/2 time support to Conference Minister
Support staff: (Current: 5 FTE; proposed 3.5 FTE)
(One support position in the Trost Center with toll free number will replace 4 persons in ½ time Association secretary positions)
* Assistant Business Manager
o Shared-cost insurance and basic input of financial records
* Receptionist and assistant to 2 Associate Conference Ministers
* Secretary for Association communication and assistant to 2 Associate Conference Ministers
* Half-time receptionist and hospitality coordinator for Trost Center
Support staff changes begin July 1, 2011. Proposed staffing changes complete January 1, 2012. | |
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